Doctoral Finishing Fellowships Summer 2017 Recipient Shuo Wang

I am a Ph.D candidate working with Dr. Chang Kyoung Choi in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. My research focuses on how to treat joint diseases, like osteoarthritis, from an engineering point of view. We attempt to solve one critical problem in cartilage tissue engineering: how to help chondrocytes (cartilage cells) to re-grow their pericellular matrix (PCM) to maintain their cellular stability in vitro (out of human body). PCM is a thin-layer structure surrounding the chondrocytes and has been proven to play many key roles on maintenance of cellular functions. Departing from current methods where cells are cultured in macroscale scaffolds, we are encapsulating single cells in hydrogel microbeads same scale as the cells to assistant the PCM regeneration with the National Institute of Health grant. We expect our new approach to impact and advance the current cartilage engineering by providing a better cell source, chondrocytes with regenerated PCM.

The Finishing Fellowship, supported by Graduate School, helps me to focus on my research so that I can expect to graduate much sooner. Please allow me on behalf of my family and my advisor to sincerely thank the Graduate School and the Dean’s Advisory Panel at Michigan Tech.

I came from Beijing, China in 2010, followed by my wife (girlfriend back then) in 2011. Now I am a father of two kids, who were born in Portage Health Hospital in Hancock in 2014 and 2016. For the long time we have been living here, we also proudly consider ourselves as Yoopers.